But more importantly, the Antioch program is a truly church based program. That is to say, every student in the Antioch School Hawaii will orient their studies toward ministry in a partner church while being mentored by a leader in one of the churches. Also, rather than the typical lecture-driven information transfer common to most seminaries, the Antioch courses are built on the Socratic method and students are evaluated on whether they have demonstrated competency for ministry. The emphasis is on equipping our students for ministry with the head, the hands, and the heart.

PI: What has been your experience with the Antioch School so far?

Todd: I have been pleasantly surprised by the interest of everyone we have talked to about the program, including people on Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii. Our first semester we had nine students from about five different churches; this Fall some of the students have had to take a little break because of schedules, but they are all pretty much planning to come back and we still have about 10 students from about six or seven different churches. I have enjoyed all the studying that is involved, all of the class discussions, and all of the cross-congregational fellowship that is happening.

I am encouraged by the fact that several churches are taking it upon themselves to raise up pastors and church leaders under the Holy Spirit’s empowerment. I take joy in knowing that we are raising up leaders with the Bible, and in a biblical manner, namely, through the vehicle of the local church. And for anyone curious, I have found the curriculum to be very sufficient and engaging. I am thankful that Antioch School has done a lot of work to put this material in the hands of local churches. They do a good job of giving us accountability and freedom, as well as entrusting us to do most of the assessment of students.